The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached immovable assets worth Rs 2.78 crore belonging to former Kolkata Police deputy commissioner Santanu Sinha Biswas, his family members and associates in a money-laundering case linked to alleged land grabbing, extortion and unauthorised construction in Kolkata.
The attached properties include three flats in Kolkata and a plot of land in Kandi in Murshidabad district, the federal agency said in a statement. The action concerns assets that the ED has identified as proceeds of crime in its investigation into a network allegedly involving Biswajit Poddar, also known as Sona Pappu, businessman Jay S Kamdar and their associates.
According to the agency, the alleged proceeds were generated through illegal activities including the occupation of real-estate properties, extortion and unauthorised building construction through entities controlled by Sona Pappu, Kamdar and others. The ED said Biswas directly and indirectly acquired, concealed and possessed proceeds of crime worth at least Rs 2.89 crore.
Biswas held several senior positions in Kolkata Police, including officer-in-charge of Kalighat police station. The ED alleged that during his tenure there, he developed a close association with Kamdar and assisted him in illegal activities. The agency further claimed that Kamdar used this relationship to exercise influence within the police establishment.
The allegations place the case at the intersection of land ownership, policing and construction regulation. According to the ED, vulnerable landowners in different parts of Kolkata were allegedly intimidated or harassed into surrendering valuable plots. The agency has estimated that the alleged syndicate generated proceeds of crime worth at least Rs 50 crore through land-grabbing activities over an extended period.
Biswas was arrested by the ED in May in connection with the alleged money-laundering case and is currently in jail, according to the report. Kolkata Police has also registered a separate suo motu case against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The ED filed a charge sheet in the land-grabbing case in July, alleging that its investigation had found evidence directly implicating Biswas in the misappropriation of around Rs 3 crore. The former officer is accused of receiving financial benefits from private entities and businessmen in exchange for extending illegal favours while in office.
The latest attachment is provisional and forms part of the ED’s continuing proceedings under the money-laundering law. The agency’s allegations will be tested through the legal process, while the separate corruption case registered by Kolkata Police remains pending.
